It was League's Cup final in Seattle v2.0. A poor performance followed by bad behavior. Messi is the connective tissue between those 2, but he wasn't really part of the bad behavior. But maybe there's a sense of entitlement that comes from being on "Messi's superteam". There were also reports of Argentina nats doing racist songs / chants on the bus following their defeat of France in the previous WC.
In general I feel like the use of hands is getting out of control and it's bad for the game. There is constant pushing and it rarely seems to get called. Pulling, yes, pushing, that's fine! Guys trying to receive a pass back to the goal and the defender shoves them in the back. Good luck controlling the ball with 2 guys circling in front of you to grab it as you're pushed off of it. Or a "slight push" as a guy gets ready to shoot in the box. Good luck getting that shot to go where you wanted it to go. Fine? Not a soccer play, not a play of the ball. If you want more scoring in the game, start calling that crap. And we haven't gotten to corner kicks. The pushing and grabbing is comically ridiculous. Everyone's doing it. Haaland wasn't really doing anything much different than what everyone else is doing but the English defender fell, and they called it. I guess you can fall and then take your chances. I remember a play like that where Bruno Wilson was pushed and fell and it was an easy goal by his man. No call. Fine!!
It's not just Argentina though... it's the dark arts from Central and South America. It does get more physical the further south you go however. Something ought to be done about this stuff.
Messi is the captain and he is whom the whole team is serving and worshipping. Don't tell me he doesn't know or allow. His bodyguards aka the other 10 guys wearing the Argentina jersey are thugs. These chippy thugs do the dirty works for him so he can just stroll on the field and get the highlights while maintaining the aura. As a leader and captain and perceived legend, he did nothing to stop his team mates from being violent after the game. He did nothing about the political banner. He is the big boss behind and never gets his hands dirty by enabling the others to do it for him. He himself acted like a entitled immature kid, trying to get even by reporting the Spanish player for covering his month to the ref. This is not a super team, far from it. If you look at the players, many plays or played for Atletico Madrid, the ultra thuggish and cunning La Liga team coached by Diego Simeone. He himself was a dirty player and his team channels that. Look at his son #17 and he is the carbon copy of his dad. The guy didn't come in to play soccer but MMA. Argentina's coach Scaloni specifically picked a team of these aggressive thugs and played them to facilitate his bet on Messi and compensate what Messi can't do no more. They had other young and more skillful players but they were kept kept on the bench the whole World Cup. In yesterday match, they chose to sub in #17 with no skill but all aggressiveness. He was the one who skied their only chance at the end of overtime. Argentina and Messi deserved to lose badly on and off the pitch as much as Tuchel and England asked for it for being passive.
I listened to the Soccerwise pod on the final expecting to hear mostly praise of Spain but they spent most of it praising Argentina (they were such worthy champions(!), and Messi). Really? 0 shots in regulation time? Genius! 4D chess! And their attitude about Spain is like they’re a machine, not a group of players that have agency, and are responsible for their own success. It was like the human heroes of Argentina were playing a team of droids. David vs. Goliath and maybe Goliath won this time, but we’re here to talk about David! And no mention of the postgame poor sportsmanship (though I didn’t hear the whole thing). I think just they were in praise Argentina mode and weren’t gonna go there.
The “machine” neutered Mbappe and Messi in back-to-back matches. Only one goal allowed the entire tournament; record seven clean sheets. Best international team ever?
Big difference between the teams that came to play -- which we enjoyed watching -- and those that were there to see how much they could get away with. FIFA bet on the public preferring to see soccer thuggery than the beautiful game -- a cynical choice and one that may not serve the sport well going forward. We've been talking about the next generation. Maybe we are alienating parents of young kids who would rather see their kids running around and having fun -- which is what soccer should be -- than getting beat up, and thus register their kids for baseball and basketball but not soccer.
First, I didn’t think the officiating (I use the term very loosely) was consistent at all. Second, how do you rationally decide that this instance of stepping on someone’s foot is not a foul, but in this other case it is? If I tug on your jersey a little it’s not a foul, but if I do it a lot it is? And does it matter what jersey I’m wearing when I commit the “maybe that's a foul?” From game to game, the officiating was not consistent, and sometimes within the game the officiating was not consistent. Argentina got to mug Egypt. France got to mug Morocco. It was a Crap World Cup. And the terrible, inconsistent officiating was only part of why it was crap. The whole tournament was awful. I stopped watching about the 50th or 55th minute of France gets to cheat Morocco. I’m glad it’s over, and we desperately need either reforms, or a who,e new organization. Go Humans!!
It was a different time. César Luis Menotti did not call up the then-17-year-old Diego Maradona because he didn't want to risk anything. In 1994, Brazil's head coach Carlos Alberto Parreira also did not use a 17-year-old Ronaldo Nazário during the World Cup in the United States. Ronaldo was tearing up the Buck Shaw stadium training field still spent the entire tournament on the bench, recording 0 appearances and 0 minutes of playing time. Parreira relied almost exclusively on Romário and Bebeto, who played every minute of the knockout stages. Because Brazil was chasing their first World Cup title in 24 years, Parreira opted for experienced players rather than risking the teenager.
I generally felt good about officiating for the WC. The game has evolved to far too many players simulating fouls. Overall, the officiating was consistent. I think that there needs to be improvements with VAR reviews and the amount of holding/grabbing for corner kicks.
“Earthquakes hope to ride World Cup fever into resumed MLS season” (San Jose Mercury News - Tuesday, 7/21/26) San Jose Earthquakes’ Benjamin Kikanovic (28) kicks the ball against Dallas FC’s Shaq Moore (18) in the second half at PayPal Park in San Jose, Calif., on Saturday, May 16, 2026. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group) GO SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES!!! GO USA!!! VAI BRASIL!!! -G
How cruel...and funny! I must be an incurable footy fan; I pity anyone who has to be in a crowded metal tube flying at 35,000 feet during the World Cup Final...
World Cup: Average U.S. TV audience Fox 2026: 7.7 million viewers 2022: 3.6 million viewers Telemundo: 2026: 6.3 million viewers 2022: 2.6 million viewers Note: 104 games
Cucurelli looks nervous as hell right there. Video caught him doing the hand over mouth thing. They got Almirón for it. If they were gonna be consistent, Cucurelli is out. I think maybe it was context and maybe they didn't want to make that call in the final.
It is only punishable if it is a confrontation. Players can freely cover their months if they are just asking where to buy the ranch dressing.